Laureate Professor Roger Smith

A snapshot of success

A self-described 'specialised zoologist,' Laureate Professor Roger Smith is keen on understanding the idiosyncrasies, interactions and inner workings of multiple animal species but especially human.

Laureate Professor Roger Smith is a man of many talents and interests. As the Co-Director of the University of Newcastle's Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, and the Director of the University's Mothers and Babies Research Centre and the Department of Endocrinology at John Hunter Hospital, he's also a man with many responsibilities. Not limiting himself to a singular field, the passionate academic freely studies "anything and everything" that sparks his intrigue.

"I don't' have a single focus," Roger elaborates.

"To give you an idea, I have about 25 different projects going at the moment."

"These range from explorations of potential new treatments for women in premature labour and women with postpartum haemorrhage, to the use of nanoparticles to treat thyroid and ovarian cancers."

"I'm very lucky to be able to do what I do."

A head start

Roger recalls having this affinity for the natural world from a young age. Working on the proviso that the "proof is in the picture," the esteemed educator tells of a photograph of his toddler-self feeding elephants, and its importance in kick starting his research career.

"I was thinking about how the planet works very early on in my life," he reflects.

Seeking to satisfy this time-honoured thirst for knowledge about his own species, Roger studied medicine at the University of Sydney. Graduating in 1973, he spent the next two years at Royal North Shore Hospital followed by time in Western Australia and New Zealand, before undertaking a PhD at the University of London.

"I saw my training to become a doctor as training to become a specialised zoologist," he explains.

"My interest in people is not just in terms of their diseases, but also about how they interact with each other."

"We are the most highly social animal there is."

"This is the way I see myself and what I can contribute to our society."

After completing his doctorate in 1981, Roger returned to Australia and joined the University of Newcastle.

Well-known and well-travelled

Most recently, and perhaps most interestingly, Roger has been undertaking a research assignment on lemurs in Madagascar.

"They are surprising and extremely complex primates," he describes.

"The females are dominant over the males and their clitorises are bigger than penises, due to the different steroids produced during pregnancy."

"Oestrogen and progesterone normally regulate the onset of labour but they do all of these crazy things in lemurs so we don't yet know why they give birth when they do."

"People from the island's west coast have collected samples of poo from pregnant female lemurs and they've been transported here for analysis and comparison with samples obtained from Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo."

Spanning a generous handful of time zones, Roger's current work also sees him conducting work in Nepal. The clinical endocrinologist is on the hunt for ways to improve maternal mortality in the developing country, ambitiously and admirably looking to reduce its "exceedingly high" death rates during pregnancy.

"Women are of low standing in this culture," he points out.

Collaborating with a Nepalese postgraduate student, Roger is hoping to change this situation with a simple but powerful song.

"Music is a big part of day-to-day community life for these people," he illuminates.

"So we're going to run a competition in schools for a lyrical number that involves some key messages about respecting women."

"It will be judged by teachers – who are all male."

"Once the final song is chosen, it will be taught to travelling minstrels who will then sing it at every house in the intervention area."

"We will assess the impact of the song on attitudes to pregnant women and the care they need."

In our own backyard

Back home, Roger is endeavouring to 'close the gap' where Aboriginal health is concerned. He has set up programs in both Tamworth and Walgett, renting and renovating buildings for art and ante-natal research purposes.

"Indigenous women have double the rate of premature birth and double the rate of growth retarded babies," the multitasking scholar affirms.

"But we're trying to improve those statistics."

"We've employed Aboriginal artists and elders, as well as dieticians, midwives and lactation consultants to pass on their knowledge to expectant mothers."

"Together, they all sit down and do artworks and discuss their different areas of expertise."

Learning just as much from these women as he is by teaching them, Roger asserts the rural venture has so far been an "overwhelming success."

Thinking outside the norm

When asked where he would like to see the future of medicine and public health, Roger is quick to answer.

"They both need to change," he claims.

"These days, the troubling and most prevalent diseases are social problems – not medical ones."

"So I could tell you to eat less, start exercising and stop smoking, but then you go back to your world surrounded by family and friends who probably drink more than they should, smoke and don't exercise often."

"My five minutes with you is a waste of time."

Believing how we behave and think is "largely determined" by the people around us, Roger is calling for doctors to influence the social networks of individuals.

"I no longer meet with patients one-on-one," he reveals.

"If someone has obesity or smokes, for example, I want to meet their partner and friends and relatives."

"It's about group effort."

"After all, you can't refuse to help someone you love and care about."

Career Summary

Biography

I am an internationally recognised leader in the pathophysiology of human pregnancy. I have been awarded medals and published in Nature, Nature Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine and Scientific American; Science has reviewed my work. I have been a visiting Professor at Harvard, Yale and the NIH Perinatal Research Branch.

Research ExpertiseClinical and basic science expertise in the physiology of human birth and the pathophysiology of premature birth.

Teaching ExpertiseTeaching endocrinology to medical students

Administrative ExpertisePrevious assistant dean research, currently Director of the Department of Endocrinology John Hunter Hospital and Co-Director of the University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre in Reproductive Science and Director of the Mothers and Babies Research Centre.

Qualifications

PhD, University of London

Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery, University of Sydney

Keywords

endocrinology

premature labour

preterm birth

Fields of Research

Code

Description

Percentage

060499

Genetics not elsewhere classified

15

110399

Clinical Sciences not elsewhere classified

35

111499

Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine not elsewhere classified

50

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title

Organisation / Department

Professor

University of NewcastleSchool of Medicine and Public HealthAustralia

Awards

Distinction

Year

Award

2014

Fellow of the Australian Society of Reproductive BiologyAustralian Society of Reproductive Biology

2012

Life Member Endocrine Society of Australia for services rendered Endocrine Society of Australia

Fellowship ad eundemThe Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG)

2000

Asia & Oceania MedalSociety for Endocrinology

2000

Award for Research ExcellenceHunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI)

Invitations

Participant

Year

Title / Rationale

2005

1st International Summit on Preterm BirthOrganisation: Society for Gynaecological Investigation
Description:
Roger was invited to give a Plenary lecture "Stress and the onset of human labour" in the session called "Preterm labour - mechanisms". This was the first in a series of landmark meetings focussed on topics vital to global reproductive health. This Summit addressed the important research questions relating to the prediction and prevention of preterm birth. The goal of the Summit was to produce an expert consensus document defining the current state of knowledge and important questions to be addressed in future research. Roger was also invited to be on the Scientific Committee of the Summit. This report and supporting documents were published in the Journal of the Society of Gynecological Reproduction.

2004

2nd International workshop on Biomarkers and PTDOrganisation: World Health Organisation
Description:
Roger was one of two Australian participants. The goals for this workshop were to generate a forum for international projects, future collaborations scientific progress based on fruitful discussions, exchange of ideas and potentially friendship. The final product was to be scientific protocols owned by all participants. 5 protocols on genetics, preconception identification of women at risk for PTB, Pathways, Time trends and preventions and interventions were generated. The International PREterm BIrth Collaborative (PREBIC) was formed at this meeting.

2003

46th RCOG Study GroupOrganisation: Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Description:
Invited to participate in the 46th Royal College Obstetrics & Gynecology Study Group on preterm labour convened in London 21-23 Oct 2003 A small number of selected people were chosen to meet for three days to discuss preterm labour. The college attaches great importance to the Study groups both nationally and internationally through the resulting publication. Roger's talk was titled Control of the length of gestation lessons from women". This led to the following publication. Smith R, Mesiano S, Nicholson R, Zakar T, Chan E-C, Bisits A, Clifton V, Giles W. Control of the Length of Gestation-Lessons from Women. Pre-term Birth Study Group. Eds. Bennet and Thornton. Publisher: Royal College Obstetrics Gynecology 2004.

Preterm birth accounts for 70% of neonatal mortality and is a common cause for intellectual handicap among survivors. Approximately 50% of cases of cerebral palsy are associated w... [more]

Preterm birth accounts for 70% of neonatal mortality and is a common cause for intellectual handicap among survivors. Approximately 50% of cases of cerebral palsy are associated with preterm birth, in turn preterm birth increases the risk of cerebral palsy by 40 times! (Goldenberg, 2002). Preterm labor thus afflicts individuals at the very beginning of their lives, depriving them of opportunities and increasing health and educational costs for families and society in general. Unfortunately the rates of preterm birth have not changed for over 30 years due to an inability to predict the event and lack of effective therapies. This clinical problem has driven research into the mechanisms that regulate the timing of human birth and the disorders which cause preterm birth. For reasons of ethics most research in the past has focused on animal work, especially in the sheep. Unfortunately studies have revealed substantial differences between parturition in humans and that in other animals. Thus animal studies provide us with clues as to how systems operate to regulate delivery in mammals but frustrate us with uncertainty as to whether particular mechanisms operate in the human. Experimental in vivo studies provide the strongest evidence for cause and effect, yet the closer we come to the human state in our near relatives the apes, the larger the ethical constraints on experimental studies become.

Preterm labour remains a major obstetric problem with only poor methods for prediction of preterm birth and treatments of preterm labour with limited efficacy. Regulation of human... [more]

Preterm labour remains a major obstetric problem with only poor methods for prediction of preterm birth and treatments of preterm labour with limited efficacy. Regulation of human parturition is demonstrably different from that in most animals restricting opportunities for relevant research. Recent work suggests a placental clock mechanism regulating the length of pregnancy through the production of the placental peptide Corticotrophin Releasing Hormone. At the end of pregnancy most animals initiate labour with a fall in circulating progesterone concentrations but this does not happen in humans. In humans a functional progesterone withdrawal is initiated by a change in myometrial expression of progesterone receptors, specifically increase expression of the PRA isoforms, which is a dominant repressor of the activating receptor PRB. This new knowledge may help design better strategies for prediction and treatment of preterm labour.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of maternal serum activin A, inhibin A, and follistatin with fetal growth and placental function. STUDY DESIGN... [more]

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of maternal serum activin A, inhibin A, and follistatin with fetal growth and placental function. STUDY DESIGN: Inhibin A, activin A, and follistatin were measured in maternal serum that was stored from normally grown (control subjects, n = 50) and small-for-gestational-age pregnancies (n = 49), prospectively classified as normal small-for-gestational-age pregnancy or fetal growth-restricted pregnancy with the use of umbilical artery Doppler ultrasound. RESULTS: Activin A and inhibin A were significantly increased in fetal growth-restricted pregnancies compared with control subjects (activin A: regression coefficient, 0.54, P < .001; inhibin A: regression coefficient, 0.47, P = .003). The activin:follistatin ratio was significantly higher in fetal growth-restricted pregnancies compared with control subjects (P < .001). There were no significant differences between analyte levels of normal small-for-gestational-age pregnancies and control subjects. CONCLUSION: Maternal serum activin A, inhibin A, and activin:follistatin ratio are raised in fetal growth-restricted pregnancies but not in normal small-for-gestational age pregnancies. This provides further evidence of the difference between subgroups within small-for-gestational-age pregnancies and emphasizes the need to stratify for this in research.

We hypothesized that urocortin might be produced in the pituitary of the late-gestation ovine fetus in a manner that could contribute to the regulation of ACTH output. We used in ... [more]

We hypothesized that urocortin might be produced in the pituitary of the late-gestation ovine fetus in a manner that could contribute to the regulation of ACTH output. We used in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to identify urocortin mRNA and protein in late-gestation fetal pituitary tissue. Levels of urocortin mRNA rose during late gestation and were associated temporally with rising concentrations of pituitary proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA. Urocortin was localized both to cells expressing ACTH and to non-ACTH cells by use of dual immunofluorescence histochemistry. Transfection of pituitary cultures with urocortin antisense probe reduced ACTH output, whereas added urocortin stimulated ACTH output from cultured pituitary cells. Cortisol infusion for 96 h in chronically catheterized late-gestation fetal sheep significantly stimulated levels of pituitary urocortin mRNA. We conclude that urocortin is expressed in the ovine fetal pituitary and localizes with, and can stimulate output of, ACTH. Regulation of urocortin by cortisol suggests a mechanism to override negative feedback and sustain feed-forward of fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function, leading to birth.

Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a 41 amino acid neuropeptide that is expressed in the hypothalamus and the human placenta. Placental CRH production has been linked to th... [more]

Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a 41 amino acid neuropeptide that is expressed in the hypothalamus and the human placenta. Placental CRH production has been linked to the determination of gestational length in the human. Although encoded by a single copy gene, CRH expression in the placenta is regulated differently to the hypothalamus. Glucocorticoids stimulate CRH promoter activity in the placenta but inhibit it's activity in the hypothalamus, via mechanisms involving different regions of the CRH promoter. We discuss how various stimuli alter CRH promoter activity and why these responses are unique to the placenta.

Smith R, Smith JI, Shen X, Bisits AM, Engel PJ, Giles WB, et al., 'The onset of human labor is associated with a fall in the ration of progesterone to estrogens and an increase in the estriol to estradiol ratio', 51st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Endocrine Society of Australia and Society of Reproductive Biology: Meeting Proceedings and Abstract Book (2008) [E3]

Research Supervision

Number of supervisions

Total current UON EFTSL

Current Supervision

Impact of Mobile Phone Intervention in Improving Antenatal Care, Skilled Birth Attendant and Postnatal Care Service Utilisation in Ethiopia: A Cluster Randomised Controlled TrialPhD (Gender & Health), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2016

PhD

Impact of Mobile Phone Intervention in Improving Antenatal Care, Skilled Birth Attendant and Postnatal Care Service Utilisation in Ethiopia: A Cluster Randomised Controlled TrialPhD (Gender & Health), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2016

PhD

Pregnancy and Postnatal Nutrition for Child Cognitive DevelopmentPhD (Behavioural Science), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2016

PhD

Visualising Life: Illustration as a Vehicle for Communicating the Development and Aging of the Human PlacentaPhD(Natural History Illustrat), Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2016

PhD

Maternal Mortality and Maternal Health Service Utilization in Eastern Ethiopia: The case of Kersa districtPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2016

PhD

The Impact Of Antenatal Care On Pregnancy Outcomes in Southern Ethiopia: A Prospective Cohort StudyPhD (Gender & Health), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2016

Masters

Role of Protein to Carbohydrate Ratio in Determining Gestational Length and Birth WeightM Philosophy (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2015

PhD

Targeting Thyroid Cancer Cells for Diagnosis and TreatmentPhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2014

PhD

Understanding Human Labour: Emergence of Synchrony in the MyometriumPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2014

PhD

Increased Oxidative Damage and Premature Placental Aging Contribute to the Aetiology of StillbirthPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2014

PhD

Pathways to Improving Maternal Mortality in Rural NepalPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2014

PhD

Systemic Dependence Between Leadership and Collaborative Success?PhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2012

PhD

Development of an Insulin Delivery Algorithm for Management of Meals for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in ChildrenPhD (Paediatrics), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2011

PhD

Elucidating the Role of Myosin Phosphatase in the Contractility of Myometrial Smooth MusclePhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2009

PhD

Epigenetic Regulation of Progesterone Receptor Isoforms in Human PaturitionPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

Past Supervision

Year

Level of Study

Research Title / Program / Supervisor Type

2013

Masters

Weight Retention in the Postpartum PeriodM Philosophy (Nutrition&Diet), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2013

PhD

Nutrition During Pregnancy: An Evaluation of Maternal Dietary Intake and the Development of Foetal AdiposityPhD (Nutrition & Dietetics), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2013

PhD

Relationship Between Renal Volume, Prematurity, Birth Weight and Retinal MicrovasculaturePhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2012

PhD

Effect of Maternal Asthma During Pregnancy on Aspects of Placental Immune FunctionPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2011

PhD

Human Endogenous Retroviruses and Immune Tolerance in PregnancyPhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2010

PhD

Syncytin and Placental Exosomes: New Insights in Immunology of PregnancyPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2009

PhD

Nutritional Influences in Pregnancy and Postpartum for Women and Their ChildrenPhD (Nutrition & Dietetics), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2009

PhD

Regulation of Myometrial Contractility: Pathways to Human BirthPhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2009

PhD

Effect of Maternal Asthma During Pregnancy on Circulating Cytokines, Immune Cell Profile and Airway Inflammatory Mediator Release In-VitroPhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2008

PhD

Estrogen and Progesterone Actions in Human ParturitionPhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2008

PhD

Characterisation of the Multifunctional Protein, CREAPPhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2007

PhD

A Discovery Approach to Human LabourPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2006

PhD

The Control of Prostaglandin Synthesis and Degradation in the Human Fetal Membranes during Pregnancy and LabourPhD (Reproductive Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2006

PhD

Tissue Specific Mechanisms of Transcriptional Regulation of the Corticotrophin-Releasing Hormone GenePhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2004

PhD

The Effect of Maternal Asthma During Pregnancy on Placental Function and Fetal DevelopmentPhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2003

Masters

The Use of Ultrasound Measurements to Assess Normal Foetal Growth and Myometrial Tension Throughout Pregnancy. A Longitudinal StudyM MedSc (Medicine) [R], Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2002

PhD

Pituitary Autoimmunity: Identification of the First Pituitary Target Autoantigen involved in Two Autoimmune Syndromes and the Clinical Significance of Antipituitary Autoantibodies PhD (Medicine), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

Research Collaborations

The map is a representation of a researchers co-authorship with collaborators across the globe. The map displays the number of publications against a country, where there is at least one co-author based in that country. Data is sourced from the University of Newcastle research publication management system (NURO) and may not fully represent the authors complete body of work.

News

A revolutionary method of delivering drugs specifically to the uterus, using antibody-coated nanoparticles, has been pioneered by researchers from the University of Newcastle (UON) and Hunter Medical Research Institute.

The Federal Government has provided a crucial $1.5 million grant to the University of Newcastle’s Gomeroi gaaynggal health centre at Tamworth and Walgett, enabling it to continue operating beyond the end of 2016.

Professor Roger Smith has been awarded more than $469,000
in NHMRC Development Grant funding commencing in 2016 for his research
project Achieving Targeted Delivery of Drugs to Uterine Muscle in Women for the Prevention of Preterm Labour.

Pioneering research by the University of Newcastle's Mothers and Babies Research Centre has led to the discovery of an electrical 'switch' in the uterine muscle that fails to engage in pregnant women who are overweight, potentially causing labour complications.